FIX THIS BAND! Ep.7: Master of Puppets (Apocalypse)

-FIX THIS BAND! Ep.7: Master of Puppets (Apocalypse)
Original Footage: • Apocalpyse- “Master of...
Check out all my lesson vids at: www.the-art-of-guitar.com
Art of Guitar T-shirts: my-store-11499138.creator-spr...
Facebook: / fansoftheartofguitar
/ theartofguitar
Thanks!!!

[@apocalypseband7449]

the drummer here- wow, never thought i’d see myself on this 😅. As of 2024, we no longer play together as a band but we all still continue the instruments that we play. We have all significantly improved on our instruments, and at this point we had all been on our instruments for 1-2 years. We did end up making one original song that you can check out on our channel. I’ve seen a lot of really supportive comments under this so thank you for the kind words 🤘🏻

[@neoseekerful]

Shame you're not still together, amazing potential. I hope you all do well in whatever you are doing now and in the future.

[@TheArtofGuitar]

Awesome for you to comment. Sad to hear that you're not together anymore but it happens. From what I see here I'm sure the trajectory of your improvement was immense. I remember how much better my old metal band got in 2 years. Scary what can be accomplished when a group of musicians with the same burning goal really go for it. I dig the original as well.

[@kevystead]

Soild stuff Dude.. From one drummer of over 20y experience to a young drummer. Keep it up bro! Also.. love the open handed playing😀

[@titmusspaultpaul5]

You did a FANTASTIC job. Well done. Do you think you'll get back together? Maybe after this video has showcased you it might give you all that push you need to continue. It would be good to see. Very well done.

[@jonathantaylor3435]

dude you nailed the fills - nice

[@isaacgoldin5044]

Lmao that’s me with the Les Paul, didn’t expect art of guitar to watch it 2 years later.

[@Araye]

awesome job isaac!

[@JohnBoy-Ramone]

Well done mate, but it really cannot be emphasized enough, how important it is to loop your lead through your strap✌🏻👍🏻. PS. another really important (unwritten) rule of Rock n' Roll is; "Thou Shall Not Wear Sweat Pants on Stage" 🎸Vive le Rock😎

[@jhobs909]

I saw Metallica for the first time in 1985 at the felt forum. I was 15 years old. Yikes!! Amazing to see young kids playing Metallica. You guys did a great job!!

[@baneverything5580]

Y`all did great man. This is NOT an easy tune!

[@Marimba7]

Aside from the band’s awful sound mix, you guys rock, great stuff dude! 🤘😆🤘

[@xyz8655]

12:00 Exhibit A, your Honor (Bass player (on right) steps on plug and de-plugs him self)

[@djungelskog.1]

🤣

[@DMSProduktions]

Stage DEATH!

[@R3TR0R4V3]

At least he didn't drop the bass too, lol. That _really_ would've sucked! 😅

[@kamranahmad4592]

That's what they originally wanted Jason Newsted to do for all the shows

[@luxuboss8955]

LOooooooool XD i missed that the first time.

[@icoz7]

Mike, I really appreciate most of your content dropping at like 3AM CST, because it makes me feel like less of a vampire. Keep doing the lord's work, brother.

[@ScratchedDVDhelp]

Dropped at 12 am for me LOL

[@ryangreene50]

Im gonna guess I’m the only one who it dropped for at 5:30 am lol

[@user-hk9jv8pt8f]

@@ScratchedDVDhelpflat earthers in shambles

[@jaydenspencemusic]

Honestly one of the most supportive crowds ever. Props to everyone involved in this gig

[@wohlhabendermanager]

I want this crowd every time I pick up my guitar. They are awesome.

[@greenerdays]

Fix This Band! has become one of my fav things to watch on youtube♥

[@SeattleSam-ul5hr]

Just a suggestion for new bands, try not to stand angled toward each other. It makes you appear uncertain. ALWAYS face your audience unless you’re interacting with another musician. And do not stare at your fretboard!!! (Unless soloing).

[@qua7771]

I was thinking the same thing. They're stage act looks like a practice session. When a musician plays to the audience they perform better, and have better stage presence.

[@lastbestplace8112]

maybe they are not good enough yet to not stare at their fretboard

[@Ottophil]

All the local bands in my town stand in one spot and stare at their hands. Meanwhile I’m climbing on cabs and literally broke my leg on stage a year ago. I don’t know how to stand still while playing guitar

[@Damyankee1989]

My first time playing in front of a big crowd I was so nervous I don't think my feet even moved 😂😂😂. I hadn't even been playing a year. The crowd loved the music though

[@titmusspaultpaul5]

​@Ottophil sounds like you'd be fantastic to watch. I love interesting stuff like that while watching a show... just look at Angus Young from AC/DC. I would look up Faith no More first time on Letterman, he does the same thing.... cheers.

[@ilikethebandnirvana88]

Once in my highschool talent show, a girls bass unplugged because she mustve stepped on it or something, but she just laughed and picked back up the cable to put it back in. i didnt even realize that it unplugged but she did such a good job at not making it awkward, though!!

[@dredwick]

Remember that one time at bandcamp?

[@jerry42023]

Did Lars turn the bass down?

[@SO-ym3zs]

I feel bad that the guitarists are using tiny practice amps but terrible that the bassist is stuck with one. No way anyone is going to hear him.

[@devlintaylor9520]

The bassist sounds just like their studio albums

[@jr2904]

​@@devlintaylor9520 that was on one album lol, you can hear the bass in the first 3 albums and then again after ajfa because of Bob Rock

[@KindredBrujah]

@@jr2904 I actually think the bass is tuned really low on most Metallica albums, even the Cliff Burton ones. Makes sense as it's sharing space with two guitars as well, so you wouldn't expect it to be as prominent as if it was a one guitars band, yes indeed.

[@chriskerr8736]

@@KindredBrujah I agree about the bass being low, especially on Ride the Lightning. Cliff absolutely goes off on bass all the way through The Call of Ktulu but you can barely hear it.

[@jeremybertrand8270]

The cable/strap trick is one I learned a long time ago. And did it for many years. But I quit doing it. Because a couple of times I actually pulled the strap off my guitar. And sent the guitar to the ground with a healthy "thud". One time breaking the end of the pin off the cable and leaving it stuck in the guitar. So now I have gotten so good at dropping to my knees and plugging it back in now, people just think it is me showing off and doing rock star moves.🤣

[@kueller917]

I was really impressed at how well they could get together. Clearly they weren't very locked in or maybe weren't used to playing on stage (it's very different in both nerves and sound) and would lose time, but they had the musicianship to recognize really quickly when they were falling apart and then find a spot to come back in. That's a very important foundation and the rest will come a lot easier because of it.

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

We had a Battle of the Bands every year at my high school and it was the most fun you could have with music. I never actually played on stage, but I was on the "roady crew" which helped set up/tear down so I felt a part of it. This was from 1984 thru 87 so it was covers of Priest, Maiden, Scorpions, Ozzy and all those popular at that time. Love this series.

[@QuakeGamerROTMG]

Fun fact, the bass player didn't step on their cable it was just Lars Ulrich using the force

[@tonepilot]

Colour me impressed by these fine musicians. The drummer was especially awesome.

[@nickcleary4762]

thanks man!

[@ghxsttt8387]

😂

[@HannahCope88]

This is awesome. I am loving this series 🙂 Congrats on 873k Subscribers! Your double cutaway Les Paul looks super cool! Nice strap you chose for it too, they go together real nice. I'm in the habit of tucking my cable through the strap as soon as I plug in, definitely don't want to unplug because i've stepped on it haha. That clean sound did sound so good, it even gave me a little wave of goosebumps.

[@zspringerguitar]

This series you do now is awesome. I love all of your content but this is just makes me super happy and all of this young banda are awesome. Thank you Mike

[@leonsessions2264]

What a fantastic showing for this young band! I agree with your critiques and I’ll add one, face your audience!! They were really getting into the performance, feed off of that and acknowledge it. So good to see the torch being passed to worthy souls. Well done and keep rocking.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Props for the Defender and Robotron marquees in the background. And they keytar. All very 80's :)

[@erickgonzalez6345]

i just saw this video the other day and i was so thrown off with everything going on in the song💀

[@JamesAnthonyL-88]

I like that u use ur influence and prestige in this environment to help others brother!! Your a good guy. Thank you

[@mightyV444]

I love this series and am very much looking forward to watching this new episode now! 🤩👍

[@ninja4O5]

Give them a frontman vocalist and a few years they might actually go semi-pro/pro. All of them sure have the performance factor and stage precence. They got the flair and flamboyance to be in a rock n roll/metal band 🤘🏼

[@dredwick]

lol okay

[@fredbear97]

@@dredwickbro is allergic to positivity

[@Mars-mr3om]

Refreshing to see kids embrace hard rock and metal!!!!!🤟🤟🤟❤❤❤

[@michaeljoyner2934]

Loads of potential with these kids. Love to see it. 🎸🤘🏻

[@xmateosx]

Love your commentary. I playing with some guys that have a few open mics under their belts. This is so helpful.

[@craigshewchuk9018]

These guys are going man, doing good especially sharing the parts back in forth in the beginning. You can tell they are excited to be up there lol

[@NigelTupuola]

The single tom rod with the single hole on the bass drum would be the way to go.. or no hole on the floor drum and use a stand for the toms.. or the clip on to the bar so it can fit as many toms you want. Anyway, these guys are a 100 rimes better than the guys who did Enter sandman. Just wish the guitarist would practice singing and playing at the same time.. im guessing it already in the works.

[@kbroomall]

dude this is awesome! reminds me of trying out for the high school talent show back in 92. loved your assessment. Thank you!!!!

[@Muffll.]

The cable thing u are talking about was the first thing my Guitar teacher back then teached me when i switched to electric guitar. I just seen it as normal, like tuning your guitar before playing anything, but when u see people who dont do it, you just realise how important it is.

[@triple6wolfi]

Excellent format Sir

[@JoeR203]

They don't need fixing, but you should check out a Canadian band called Leave Those Kids Alone. The lead guitarist took over as lead vocalist, and at 17, he's damn good at playing guitar and singing at the same time. His sister is the drummer and you wouldn't believe how good she is. Now, as for straps coming off the posts, once you attach your new strap, don't take it off. Repeatedly removing and attaching a strap is what loosens the area for the post to come through and that makes it easy for the post to slip out of the strap.

[@itzdrew3290]

Or just get strap locks

[@asthemoon8296]

Awesome review and tips, dude! Hopefully this band will see this and take your advice. They definitely have the potential to be really tight and good. I had a dumb ego at that age and wish I would have listened to someone like you back then haha 😅

[@tofersiefken]

Great series, I really enjoy the bands you're choosing.

[@bottomkitchen250]

Really surprised at how those little amps sound. It's actually not that bad for what they are. These guys will be good if they keep at it.

[@2DclanSnipingTeam]

Another great video! Thanks Mike!!!!

[@Fenghorn_Zob]

Love this series!

[@user-wy4pr3vp2c]

I would love to see more Randy rhoads on the channel the videos you have are amazing and I learn something in all of them and i don’t really have a guitar teacher but id like to think of you as one of my teachers

[@Guitarzan8]

I really like this series! I hope a member or 2 of Apocalypse comments. I’d like to hear updates on what they’ve learned and what they’re going to do, then see another live video from them! Maybe a rich uncle will buy them a back line?

[@Marimba7]

The “wrap your lead around your strap before putting the jack in the socket” tip is a golden lesson, one you’ll otherwise learn as soon as you wander away from your amp when gigging and you guitar suddenly goes quiet! (been there, done that, I learned this lesson early in my gigging life 😂) 🤘😆🤘

[@bradkurland1427]

This video put a complete smile on my face

[@goldagent77]

Could Master Of Puppets be the most fun song to cover?

[@amstel5468]

Love this series 🤘

[@Sullivan-hx6iu]

I know I’m on the wrong topic but I wanted to say thank you for your channel and your videos you have helped me learned a lot with my playing thank you so much

[@GimmeEd]

It's great to see that kids are getting into great music. It's awesome that they're even listening to it, let alone, jamming the crap out of it!!!

[@joeblack007forever]

I like this series!! 💕💕

[@WebSpotlight]

All of them have different length hair but somehow experiencing the awkward phase of growing it out at the same time.

[@Gee-no]

Those amps are so small! When i was 15 i got a job at Dairy Queen and made enough money for a Peavey amp with a 12" speaker, a boss ds distortion, and 6 months of ins for my ford Pinto. Go 1987!!

[@kondorram9073]

Great work boys 👏🏼

[@leroybrown3856]

That was great. It really took me back to the days of just me singing on my 12 piece kit and a guy on guitar. These guys have some work to do but all in all they did great and if they stick it out they’ll be an awesome band. One of them needs to suck it up and sing. Or as I used to do, yell in key.

[@Octalux]

They did a great job. Fair critiques, but we’ve all been there. Congrats to those dudes!!

[@mememan5466]

I think the biggest mistakes they made was that they rushed through a lot of parts but they managed to recover pretty well

[@christopherguzzi1316]

I love these videos!!! Great job by the band! My only criticism is that it looks like the stage designer from Spinal tap picked the amps. 😉

[@mirothiel8039]

These guys are going to be great if they keep playing and practicing. Despite the mistakes, the energy is fantastic and you can hear the potential. I find myself getting pumped up by it.

[@anthonyw5261]

Apocalypse is very good. A lot fewer kinks than what I was expecting. The bass slaps after the dual guitar was well timed. Looking forward to seeing them in the future 👏👏👏👏

[@JohnSmith-fp8il]

Hi AOG, you've been a guitar teacher for a long time. Can you do a video where you talk abut the importance of natural ability when playing guitar. Or is that a no go subject? I suspect you've seen enough students to know that natural ability is really important in determining how good a person can get at guitar, but that's a reality most people don't want to acknowledge.

[@Gordini840]

i love how the Ramones dude just dimes everything on the VOX lmao

[@otherfish]

The unplug happens to the pros too - I was watching the Iron Maidens at NAMM several years ago. On the first song, first big solo, the one guitar player walked up to front of stage ready to rip but unplugged herself right when the solo started!!!! Such a bummer - she was going to kill it! Wrap that cord thru your strap!!!!!!!!!!

[@tommysanfilippo3165]

And buy strap locks. Both are Mandatory for playing live.

[@brandonjackson5865]

The hardest part of a high school talent show is getting the song started in sync lol. I remember we played War For Territory and slid into Chaos AD at the end. We brought half stacks lol . We might not have been the most talented but we were the most loud ! The audience getting into it is actually super cool in this video !

[@sydhamelin1265]

1. I hope you do personal lessons. Your detailing on performance is not just way above the norm, but you communicate it so well. I've worked with so many guitarists, and I feel like there's always 1 or 2 of these fundaments that is absent. Beginners to advanced, I think you'd add something to their playing. 2. Totally need to get the drummer on a metronome. He reminds me of....me, when I was around his age. I would take apart a song, learn it piece by piece, then reassemble it. Problem is, I'd learn each piece at a tempo that was comfortable for learning, so when it all came back together, I'd float the tempo dramatically. When I finally got around to working with a metronome, it really exposed how compartmental my playing was. So yeah, get that drummer on a click, and get him to then lead the band after having that tempo under control.

[@greymatters6015]

Wow, that crowd was hyped!

[@DanPantzig]

These kids kick ass!

[@MrHrannsi]

Mike, you are onto something here, I am typing this before 2 minutes of this video have passed, so bring it on.

[@kinganimal9631]

These guys are really good!

[@TheThunderwars]

For my first gig ever, I only had a line 6 amp with 15w and no pedals... So I had my singer jumping in to switch canals from clean or "metal" to "insane" for solos. I only played guitar for 5 months and there were 400 people in the crowd, it was insanely intimidating... So I feel for these guys ahah

[@TheRealityfades]

Man, I love this series! I did open mic night with my own rendition of Thin Lizzy’s Whiskey In The Jar. It’s supposed to be a cross of the original and the Metallica version with me playing the bass part on a keytar. Wouldn’t mind some criticism (was my first performance) but since it’s just my friend and I, not sure if we count as a band, haha I used my practice amp as my main amp for the gig but it’s a space issue for me, I have a small house.

[@guitargeek4208]

Let’s go homie 🤘👋

[@DVSNTHERE]

Cant get better without messing up. And doing live helps. They deserve a high five!

[@oldguylearnsguitar8266]

they were epic! Well done :)

[@SomeCanine]

I remember this phase. It's where you are pretty good at playing but there are no monitors. If you must resort to this kind of venue, you can always put your amp behind you and wear those ear protection plug things. It seems a bit counter-intuitive but being able to hear your band mates is better than not being able to hear them. Still they played pretty well considering the technical issues. Kudos on them.

[@autocrow]

Great crowd reaction. Imagine if they had a singer! Good points.

[@kklau4715]

The crowd is damned amazing!!! The kids will be doing much better next time for sure!!!

[@TheBcoolGuy]

Well, at least the girls seem to dig it!

[@fallenshallrise]

Keep on reminding people lol. 1. Hold the cable in your picking hand. 2. Put on the guitar/bass. 3. Then plug in. No more accidentally unplugged cables and saves some wear and tear on your cables and output jack.

[@joellebrodeur1015]

That kind of thing should be instinctively known and one of the first things taught when learning electric guitar and bass. Having the cable in the strap keeps it at your side versus being in front of the player's leg.

[@alexodonnal3352]

Man that crowd was going crazy!! those kids will never forget that day

[@cgmnb2010]

This is super cool to me. My first experience hearing heavy music live was when I was in early high school, we did a talent show and this group of kids started a band but their lead singer went to a different school. We were a small school with a bunch of country people this band was a metalcore band but, since they had no singer they just did instrumentals of the song. It was heavy and I could tell they practiced a lot but it was kind of weird when you could tell their should be vocals on places. But I think I don't think it would have been received well if they had their singer screaming in front of all these hicks.

[@jjs3863]

Guitarist here. 1993, TLA, south St, philly. My band, Flowerpot, at a band showcase. (We wanted to be Pearl Jam). First song starts big. Im standing on the edge of the drum riser coz im gonna jump off, Townsend style. Literally landed on my guitar cable. Pulled it out of the guitar and broke the plug. Spent the first song trying to find a spare cable. Found one but it ruined my entire set. Never made that mistake again lol

[@Quinn37]

As a young musician one of the biggest things I had to learn was about listening to the entire band. The key to playing as a unit is about listening.

[@hisaceinthehole3426]

Oof the whole band was desynced. That hurt. I remember when i had that happen to me. Also it feels like theyre speeding through the song. Some of the notes have some breathing room that they dont take into account.

[@ImYourOverlord]

Absolutely use the "cord-saver method" with guitars and basses!

[@politicalscientist8880]

sidenote - doing this instrumental - cut it short. Skip second verse and chorus.

[@jafman06]

Hey Mike, back when I first started playing guitar I was already shooting for Master of Puppets so ever since then I never got use to alternate picking. I can only do downstrokes and idk if that’s bad, but I want to know methods to fix this problem. Could you possibly make a video showing alternate picking practices, especially for people that started playing only knowing how to downstroke 😅

[@racrboy]

Good stuff. I wish I had readily available old video footage of me and my brother jammin' Metallica in the late 80s early 90s. Tho, I have a hard time playing accurate James Hetfield downstrokes today. I know it was a train wreck back 30 ish years ago. Tho my bro, kills it at the drums today and back then!

[@joegott9391]

My 6th grade buddies did knocking on heavens door in the talent show, blew everyone away, but back in 92' video was for a select few.

[@yuji1019]

Hey Art of Guitar, I remember in episode 4 of "Fix this Band" you talked about how you missed that Charvel Avenger guitar. Well I went on reverb and there is one in the exact white like the one you had when you were a kid. If you want I can send you the link

[@TacMedTV]

Anyway you slice it, these young guys have some talent! Keep it going, Apocalypse!

[@DevinRyanVitek]

That TV White Junior is amazing!

[@topnug7626]

The amp the one guitar player is using is a vox vt20x, I own the 40x and the EQ on that heavily affects the volume, so maybe thats why he was turning all the knobs up. 9:22 Not sure if he knew that though lol

[@EJ-74]

When I first started playing on stage I had guitar picks as strap locks so the strap wouldn't slip off and of course I always remembered to tuck my cord behind the strap so I never did what this bassist did lol Thank God 😁 I've had it happen to a band member though and we actually covered it up well nobody stopped except the dummy that didn't tuck his cord but he got it plugged in super fast and came right back in on his part, most people were so fricn drunk and high they didn't even notice 😂 I can say he never let it happen again cause he caught mortal hell after the gig, we were hard on each other maybe a bit to hard sometimes but it kept us on our game and sometimes you gotta push people to get the best out of them just don't get violent like Dave lol

[@bobjove6511]

Great stuff

[@dstarling61]

Another tip about guitar cords: At the amp end never loop the cable through the handles on the amp. You want the cable to be able to pull out, so you don’t pull the amp over! I’ve seen it happen more than once.

[@wohlhabendermanager]

3:20 The very first thing I learned about cables is: Use your guitar strap to get them out of the way. I do this even to this day, when I'm mostly playing just for myself.

[@wildside1951]

If you're looking for a band that did battle of the bands playing metallica covers, my band HardMarch played Seek and Destroy in 2020 when we were in highschool at college street music hall in ct, still active and working on recording and stuff. Shameless self promotion but it fits what you were interested in doing. We play main 80s hardrock and hair metal/heavy metal and do originals. I was listening while doing stuff on my computer and id say they sounded good, I feel like its a lot harder to play without vocals cause you can't rely on them, you have to go off of pure memory

[@matt4799]

Back in the day when we would play this song and "Creeping Death" our drummer would always do the opposite and rush through those fills. Lars even does that sometimes.

[@mtpstv94]

It's also not good for your guitar input to let it dangle like that and move around. It will also assist in helping eventually loosen the nut. When it does it will cause problems with the wire connections/soldering inside. This is something I learned to do in the first year or two in the 90s having seen others doing it.

[@user-yx5mi7kp3y]

nice vid mike

[@thew1zard__]

oh boy 12AM

[@ESPLTD322]

You in pacific time? I live in Alabama not far from Georgia so I’m in central but right by the eastern time zone lol idk if you care or not just felt like telling you

[@ScratchedDVDhelp]

Same

[@Demiglitch]

I started getting recommended old pictures of thrash bands on instagram wearing white hi tops and knew I needed to get a pair or three. Adidas Stan Smith, Adidas Top Ten and Converse Pro Blaze V2, people compliment them all the time. You should break out your old pairs! Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson from Megadeth wore their merch too, it's good marketing. Makes you look professional if you're not going to have a "uniform" of whatever kind. I loved those Pushead designed Metallica shirts Jason would wear during 89-91. I appreciate you showing the cable trick. I actually learned that from a cartoon I saw called "Bochi the Rock" about a teen girl joining a rock band. Not to be mean to Sanctus, but Apocalypse did better interacting with the crowd than your first show. Better lighting too! The snowball effect of "unplugged instrument" to "awkwardly picking up and plugging in again" to "straps fall off" is probably related to Murphy's Law - "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time." Definitely a smart move to cut the third verse. It's an 8 minute song and they don't have a vocalist. Even if they did, it's better to make it a tighter, shorter performance and avoid boring people. Luckily the parents and kids seem to be into it all. The ending reminds me of the film "That Thing You Do!" Mr. White: We bow, right? In unison. And we're off the stage before the applause dies out. Jimmy: What if they want an encore? Mr. White: You unplug and you run - RUN - off stage! [normal voice] Smiling. Smiling of course. If one of them is Creeping Death, I hope they do what you wanted to do and get the crowd chanting "DIE!" or at least have the bassist emulate Jason Newsted and scream "DIE MOTHERFUCKER".

[@xthatghomiex2939]

Really I think all bands should rehearse with a metronome- it helps a lot. Especially if you can work the tempo a little higher than you'll actually perform for a few reps, it'll make performance tempo feel like a breeze

[@shockt9610]

That’s funny I have a band called Pushbutton Apocalypse and we have a cover of Master of Puppets as well. lol

[@obscuritystunt]

Stepping on your cable and having it pull out is getting off easy, destroying your guitar’s input jack is why you put the cable thru the strap (Fender)